La Souillonne

The character of the Souillonne was taken from Norman Beaupré’s first novel, Le Petit Mangeur de Fleurs, an autobiographical novel that came out in 1999. The author found so fascinating the figure of a marginalized woman carrying on her shoulders the burden of destiny, at times exhausting and at the same time invigorating, that he made her the protagonist of a dramatic monologue, not unlike that of Antonine Maillet’s La Sagouine. In fact, the Souillonne can be considered the Franco-American Sagouine. The Souillonne reveals, through her stories, a life full of setbacks, low self-esteem, and friendships preserved in the depths of her very soul. Rooted in unshakeable common sense, much like the people who are used to daily toil (such as mill workers), the Souillonne’s way of telling things is direct and, at times, harsh. She pours out her heart and expresses, in no uncertain terms, her view of things. This dramatic monologue was performed in Paris, Dijon, and Angers, as well as in Lamèque, N.B., Lewiston, and Biddeford, Maine.